Illini get ultimate opportunity to show they're No. 1

Published: Monday, April 04, 2005

ST. LOUIS (AP) - The best team in the country all season is an underdog today. By now, Illinois is used to it.

Even though they've only lost once, have tied the NCAA record for wins and have been ranked No. 1 in the country since December, the Illini (37-1) have had trouble getting their due much of the season.

Never has that been more true than in the buildup to Monday night's championship game, when the Illini face North Carolina (32-4) in a matchup being billed as Team vs. Talent.

Illinois is the "Team. North Carolina has the "Talent."

The Illini say they don't take offense to the comparison. Often during their interviews Sunday, though, they found themselves defending the way they're perceived - as the unsung group of guys who "play the game the right way," compared to Carolina's group of stars.

"We have NBA people at our games every time," Illini coach Bruce Weber said. "We're going to have some guys drafted, whether it's this year or next year. But we don't have quite the names, I guess, and athletic guys that maybe they have."

The reason the Tar Heels get the edge starts with Sean May, the 6-foot-9 center who averages 17.1 points and 10.9 rebounds this season. North Carolina also has Rashad McCants, Jawad Williams and Raymond Felton. They'll all go to the NBA soon, as will the sixth man, freshman forward Marvin Williams.

"They'll have a lottery pick coming off their bench," Illinois forward James Augustine said. "They're obviously more talented. But when it comes down to the situation, it's who's the better team" that will win.

Nobody has won more than Illinois - ever. With their 72-57 victory over Louisville in the semifinals, the Illini matched Duke (1986, 1989) and UNLV (1987) for the most wins in a single season.

Like the Tar Heels, the Illini have stars and NBA talent, starting with guard Deron Williams, a tenacious defender and super ballhandler who may have played himself into the NBA lottery, as well.

Another guard, Luther Head, can shoot 3s with the best, as can Dee Brown, dubbed the "One-Man Fastbreak" for his ability to blow by defenders in the open court. Roger Powell Jr. showed an inside-outside game Saturday - making 3-pointers and lay-ups with equal aplomb - that makes him hard to defend.

But the theme people keep coming back to with the Illini is their unselfishness.

"I saw them on film once, they made 19 passes to get the shot they wanted," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said.

Not that the Tar Heels coach, seeking the national title that has eluded him for the last 16 seasons, would trade what he's got.

He is in only the second year of rebuilding a program that went from great under Dean Smith to 8-20 under Matt Doherty. When Roy Williams arrived at his alma mater, he looked at the roster and saw what he had. He called the players in and said they had the talent to make the NCAA tournament in Year One, and to be right where they're at in Year Two.

"I believed it not because of my coaching," he said. "I believed it because of the kids."